Indicating the trajectory of projectiles.



No. 809,988. PATENTED JAN; 16, 1906. J. B. .SEMPLE.

INDIGATING THE TRAJEGTORY OF PROJEGTILES.

' APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 22, 1905.

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INVENTOR W111 lzsslas: B zen, W

- Attya No. 809,988. PATENTBD JAN. 16, 1906. J. B. SEMPLE. INDICATING THE TRAJEGTORY OF PROJEOTILBS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1905.

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PATEN K JOHN BONNER SEMPLE, OF SlEl i'lUKLEY. PENNSYLVANEA.

lNBlGA'llNG THE TRAJECE'QRY QF PROJEQHLE$;

fipocification of Letters Patent.

Patented is. 16, was.

, lpcllosrlou filed June 22, 3805. Earls! Ho. 236,543-

.l'o all 7111:0121 if may rvmccrn:

Be it known that I, JOHN BONNER SEMPLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sewiclrley, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Indicating the Trajectory of Projcctilcs, of which improvements the following is a specification.

'lhc invcntion described herein has for its o'ojcct the causing of the continuous flow of'o. nuitcriril from a projectile during its flight, thereby rendering it possible to constantly follow the projectile with the eye while pass ing' from the gun to object aimed at.

in general terms, the invention consists in applying pressure to a suitable nniterisl carried by the projectile to cause ilow from the contuiningcnnother during; the ilight of the projcctilc.

'lhc invention is hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings, forming 21' part of this spccificntion, Figure- 1 is a sectionul View of n projcct-ilc embodying my iniprovcincnt and also showing it portion of a filled gun-hsrroi. Figs. 2 to 7 are similar views iliustratin modifications of my iinprovcincnt, and l ig. 8 is rm. end View of the projectile shown in Fig. 6.

In the practice of in material is placed in a. chamber formed in or carricd by the projectile. The material used will depend upon whether the projectile is used in daylight or at night. For a. daylight tracer l have found that iifincly-coinininuted substance, as lump'ohick, either ulonc or minlcd with oil or writer, willforin an cilcctivc mic, while for night I employ a substance which will ignite on exposure to the atmosphsro-ns, for exsmplc, zinc ethyl or s solution of phosphorus in carbon bisuifid, which w'll ignite and burn on exposure to the atmosphere. As the combustion of these sulostances will produce both light nmlsmoke, they can he used both at. night and in daylight.

The imitcrisl cmployed maybe placed, as stated, in it chamber formed in the projectile, as the cavity usually charged with an cxplosive, as shown in Fl 5. 1, 2, 4, and 5, or in a chamber formed in a. lock 2, curried by the projectile. It is preferred that the block 2 should be constructed and arranged to close the chamber for the explosive charge, taking invention suits-bis the place of the usual base-plug snd'csrrying the fuse 3 for igniting the explosive charge.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and

3 the expansive force of gases generated by the ropelling charge is employed for foremg t e material from the contsm1n-chamher. In the construction shown in i ig. 1 a

tube 4, bent so that the enciimthin the cavity will be adjacent to tire trident the cavity, is hold in position by :1 lug 5','scrrwing into the main bass-phi 6. i 'l he )illg 5 serves to close the opening through which the material is charged in the chamber. In order to we rent any sccidentsl escape of the tracing material, a temporary stopper adapted to he forced out i) the pressure of Eli. gases of the propelling 0 large is placed in one. end of the who The chamber is not completely filled with the material, but room left for the ion metionor" so open space, with sllsformcd of the material, as will be hereinsitsr explained. On the combustion of the propelling charge at portion of the gases under high pressure will enter the chamber. While the rojectile is within the gun the pressure of the gsscs in the latter will prevent any escape of gases from the cha-mher. During the movement of the projectile alon the gun the former will be sub ected to a high rotary motion, and as the material in the cavity is of greater s ccific gravity than the gases the materiel wil move outwardly and be evenly distributed on the walls of thechmnher, disphicingth-s gases from around the inner end of the tube end cause theinto segregate in the form of s. but hie mound the axis of rotation of the projectile. When the projectile pessesbeyond the influence of the pro elling gases, the expsm sion of the gases in the chamber will force the material out through the tube 1, producin a, plain! visible halo or cmneblihstsil st'tne end 0 the projectile.

In lieu of the tube 4 it passs e? may be formed through the plug timer-4,1 t e nerip' icry of thelstter, as shown in fi s. 2 snd a, so that gases cannot esca e througi l thspssso -c until practically all t e material has been driven out. In this construction, as in thirtshown in Fig. i, the gases entering on tho s-ministion of the propelling charge t re-"segregated around the axis of rotation of the projectile. When the projectile is loaded with s. hurstin charge, the chiunher for the tracer matcris is formed in the bosepiugfi, as heretofore stated. Proyision is mulls lor tjhsentrhnce;

of the gases and the expulsion oi -the tracer material either as shown in Fig. 1 or as shown in Fi s. 2 and 3. --f

In ieu of utilizing the gases from the combustion of the propelling charge provision can be made for setting up a chemical action in the chamber, whereby a sufficient pressure is produced to expel the tracer material. The chemical elements employed are so arranged in the chamber as to be normally inoperative, but capable of being brought into operative relation on the explosion of the propelling charge, or the movement of the projectile. In the construction shown in Fig. 4 I employ a combustible material, which is arranged in a tube 8,'arranged within a cylinder 9 secured to the base-plug 6, closing the chamber in the projectile. The cylinder is longer than the tube, which is normally held in a forward position by a suitable means, as a frangible pin 10. On the forward movement of the projectile the pin will be sheared or broken, al-

owing the firing-pin 11 to contact with a cap 12, whereby the charge in the tube is ignited. By the expansion of the gases of the charge the end of the cylinder is forced. open, allowing the gases to escape into the chamber of the projectile and by expansion therein force the tracer material out through the passage 7. The rapid rotation of the projectile will cause the heavier tracer material to move out Ward and the gases to segregate around the axis of rotation of the projectile, and as the outlet-passage is eccentric to the axis of rotation the gases will not escape until all or nearly all the tracer material has been forced out. The passage 7 is closed to prevent the material from escaping except when pressure is generated in the chamber and to prevent the entrance of gases from the propelling charge.

The expelling pressure may be applied to the tracer material by mechanical means, a convenient construction to that end being shown in Fig. 5. A piston 13, arranged within the chamber, is adapted to be forced-toward the outlet-passage 14 by a spring 15, which is placedunder compression at the time of charging the material into the cavity.

5v It is preferred that the piston and spring should not become operative until the projectile has begun its movement, and to this end I employ a suitable lock, which may conslst of spr1ng-fingers 16, engaging the piston and connected to a stem 18, secured to the projectile. As the projectile revolves in its flig it the fingers will be disengaged from the piston by centrifugal action, permitting the spring to shift the piston.

be released by centrifugal action and the The material isretained in the chamber by a cork or stopper spring will operate to shift the piston and cause a steady flow of material from the chamber.

The high velocity of rotation of the projectile can be utilized to effect the expulsion of the tracer material. In the construction shown in Fig. 5 a bent tube 19 is so supported by a plu 5 in the main base-plug 6 that its inner end will be closely adjacent to the side of the chamber. The outer pOTtiOXLOf this tube extends out radially along the rear face of the projectile, so that its end or dischargeorifice is a greater distance from the axis of rotation than the inlet-orifice of the tube. In

the construction shown the tube 19 is made in two sections screwing into opposite ends of the plug 5. In order to provide a contracted throat, the holes into which the tubesections are inserted arc/separated by a diaphragm 21, through which is formed a passage smaller than the internal dimensions of the tube. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the projectile will exert a considerable outward pressure on the material and cause it to flow into the tube, and as the discharge-orifice is farther from the axis of rotation than the inlet a siphoning action will be set up to cause the material to flow through the tube.

As the projectile may not attain a sullicient velocity of rotation to effect the discharge of the material until after it hastravcled a considerable distance and as it is frequently desired to follow the projectile from the muzzle of the gun, provision is made to effect a discharge of the material as soon as the projectile is relieved of the pressure of the propelling gases. To this end the inletorifice w of the tube 19 opens in the direction of rotation of the projectile, so that as soon as the projectile begins to rotate tracer material will be forced into the tube. This actidn is due to the fact that the material will not immediately follow the rotary movement of the projectile, and hence the tube will be forced through the material and a por tion thereof scooped up and forced through the tube.

When the chamber is formed in the baseplug 6, as shown in Fig. 7, a radial dischargepassage 20 may be formed through the wall of the chamber. In such case the discharge of the tracer material will be due to centrifugal action. In order to prevent a crushing of the walls of the chamber by the pressure of the propelling gases, :1 rather large opening 18 is formed for the admission of the gases, so that such gases may quickly enter and escape as soon as the projectile passes from the gun.

It is characteristic of my improvement tion of the compressed gases, the action of a spring, and the force derived from the rotat1on of the projectile.

I claim herein as my invention 1. As an improvement in the art of indicating the trajectory of projectiles the method herein described, which consists in charging the projectile with a suitable material and causing a discharge of the material into the atmosphere by pressure applied from a source independent of said material during the flight of the projectile. v

2. As an improvement in the art of indicating the trajectory of projectiles, the method herein described which consists in charging the projectile with a suitable material and a discharge of the material by applying thereto an expansive force from a source independent of said material during the flight of the projectile.

3 As an improvement in the art of indicating the trajectory of projectiles the method herein described, which consists in chargsubjectin it to centrifugal action during the x flight of't e projectile.

4. As an improvement in the art of indi-' cating the trajectory of projectiles, the method herein described which consists in charging the projectile with a suitable material and causing a discharge of the material by a siphoning action;

5. As an improvement in the art of indicating the trajectory of proj ectiles, the method herein described which consists in charging a material into the projectile and causing the material to flow from the projectile by rotating thelatter independent of the material. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. 4

JOHN BONNER SEMPLE.

Witnesses CHARLES BARNETT, HERBERT BRADLEY. 

